Teenage Stupidity
by aquafizzy10
Summary: It wouldn't have been a big deal if Jamie hadn't blurted out, "It's nothing, I didn't see anything at all." He didn't look to see the startling paleness of Jack's face, any bright blush or glow that usually came when he visited Jamie was gone, replaced by a bloodless fear that made him run and run and never want to return.


"I really don't know about this, guys," said the hesitant voice of seventeen year old Jamie Bennett. He and his small group of friends were leaning against a worn-down brick wall, huddled up in their thick winter clothes. In the cool, crisp air, their breaths could be seen, smoke coming from their mouths like fire from a dragon's. That was, in fact, how they got the idea.

"Oh, come on, Jamie. It was your idea in the first place."

Looking away with a slightly agitated twitch of his jaw, Jamie shifted his weight, crossing his arms as though it would make his opinion seem stronger, along with his body. In all honesty, most of the guys in the group could beat him up with one hand. "It wasn't an _idea_, it was a _joke_."

"Whatever, man. Are you going to try it or not?"

He let loose a long breath from his nose, the air hitting his reddened cheeks. "Yeah, yeah. Give it to me." The cigarette was thin and pale between his fingers, which were cold in the chill of the air, gloveless. He more than wanted to leave, especially when he realized he was the brains of the group, and he had barely said a word.

One of the boys in the back brought out a lighter, and Jamie took one look at all of them before lifting it to him, watching as the flame transferred to the end of the white stick. He could feel the heat, and staring down at it, he brought the infamous drug to his lips.

It wasn't enjoyable and he knew it wouldn't be. The smoke was thick and dry, and though it was warm, the taste was horrid and it made him cough, as though his throat was trying to rid him of it, like white blood cells attacking a virus. Still, with all of the expectant gazes of his… friends resting upon him, he repeated the action, trying his hardest not to cough or let them see his eyes watering.

The group of them scuttled further down the wall as the wind picked up, howling through the city streets, carrying snow along with it. They were all hoping the wall would block the cold and keep their cigarettes lit, even if it was just a little bit. Jamie wondered how he even got into the situation, certain that if he hadn't been stubborn and hung out with his old group of friends when they had asked, he wouldn't have to make such a conflicting, stupid choice. And it _was_ stupid, he knew it was.

The boys he started hanging with probably had never gotten good grades in their lives. They were bad influences, ones his mother disapproved of, and one of them would probably be arrested before the age of twenty-five. But even then, Jamie still succumbed to the pressures of his peers. Being a teenage boy was hard enough, but keeping the secrets of the Guardians while going through puberty was even harder. He needed some sort of control group, to keep things sane, but he realized that he probably picked the wrong one.

Jamie's gaze flickered up from his cigarette when he heard a light thumping. The wind hit his face, despite the wall and the direction it was going before, and he nearly lost his breath when he caught sight of Jack Frost. At his side was the Easter Bunny, who he had never really connected with the way he had Jack, but still appreciated just as much, anyway.

The cigarette in his hand flickered but didn't go out, and Jamie wanted to shove it in a snow bank, hide it from them, but it was too late. They were his childhood, and staring at him from fifty feet away with wide eyes. He was sure his were just as wide, if not panicked, his face highlighted by the flame the kid next to him was lighting. He swallowed, darting his eyes.

"Jamie?" one of his new friends asked, "Yo, what are you looking at?"

Several heads turned to where Jamie was looking, but of course, none of them saw the things he did. His little experiment had turned into something horrid, and he felt ashamed as though he was caught committing a felony or something. It wouldn't have been a big deal, if it were not for the fact that he had only chosen these friends because of the fact that they couldn't see Jack.

It wouldn't have been a big deal if Jamie hadn't blurted out, "It's nothing, I didn't see anything at all."

He didn't look to see the startling paleness of Jack's face, any bright blush or glow that usually came when he visited Jamie was gone, replaced by a bloodless fear that made him run and run and never want to return.

Jaime also didn't see the Easter Bunny run after him, either.

-…-

It was three weeks later when he actually told his friends, the old ones, the ones who actually _knew_, about what happened. It was casual, they six of them were lounging on his couches, filling each other in about what had happened recently. Pippa was telling them of the six colleges she got accepted into, and when Jamie brought up his confrontation with Jack, he didn't think it was that important. He was wrong.

They obviously knew what was going on before, what he was trying to do. They had known him for years, through thick and thin, and they understood he needed space, needed time to grow and learn. They all grew up before him, mentally, but they all had each other to learn how do it and still believe in the Guardians. With Jamie, it was always one or the other, and he just couldn't understand that he could have both.

They weren't mad, exactly. Well, okay, they were, but they didn't show it, which Jamie considered to be worse than them yelling, even if he didn't know _why_ they were yelling. The twins were disappointed, Sophie wouldn't look at him, and Cupcake only sighed before sliding down the wall, sitting on the ground and resigning herself, staring at her sneakers. Pippa wouldn't speak to him, and Monty, well, he only patted Jaime on his shoulder before getting up from the couch, to clear his head. The only one left standing was Jamie himself, who was looking between all of them with his eyebrows furrowed.

"Why are you all… what did I do wrong? I just wanted things to be a little _normal_, that's all."

"No, Jaime," Cupcake said. "Normal is good, normal is okay… but this is Jack _Frost_." When he was still silent, she looked up at his confused face, very close to being exasperated, as was everyone else. She was speaking for them all. "Jack, you know, the guy who saved the world because you believed in him? We all know what it was like before you, Santa told us, the Sandman showed us in our dreams… You're very important, Jamie. And you practically just spat in his face."

"I didn't do anything," he argued.

"Exactly!" Pippa exploded, "You didn't _do_ anything! When was the last time you saw him? You're lucky one of them still visits you, Jaime. He went to go see you and you just turned him away as if it was nothing."

"Oh, come on, can't you see that—"

"What about Sophie?" Claude asked, gesturing to the sulking, blonde-haired girl who was turned away in the corner. She was the age Jamie was when he met Jack in the first place, though she mostly looked the same. She was bigger, taller, but her hair still hung in front of her face and she still wanted a pet bunny. "You said the Easter Bunny was with him, when was the last time Sophie saw him? You know he's her favorite."

He hadn't thought of Sophie…

"Think about it, Jack," Monty interrupted, coming back from the kitchen with a can of coke in his hand. "How much closer to normal do you want to get? Any closer and you'll stop believing in him all together. They leave us be for most of our lives, and we should be happy whenever they _do _decide to visit. It's rare that they do, anymore. We're getting old. And, I mean… what if Jack never comes back because of what you did? What if they _all_ never come back?"

Jaime suddenly felt very, very cold.

-…-

It took a bit of researching, but Jamie eventually found Jack. It wasn't all that hard, once he figured out where to start. Monty gave him the push he needed, linking him to their local weather channel's website on facebook chat.

He had told his mother he was going traveling for winter break, which was the truth. He was surprised she had even let him go, but he was headed to college in six months and she had to start letting him go off on his own, eventually. Besides, Ontario wasn't all that far from Michigan, and with its sudden surge of snow and sudden plunging temperatures, he figured that it would be the best place to check.

He didn't mean for any of it to happen, really. Jamie didn't even realize what he did wrong until it was pointed out to him. He had no idea how he was going to go to college and make a life for himself when he constantly made such stupid, childish mistakes. Jack meant the world to him, and he totally tried to cut him out of his life without even thinking about it. He was lucky he had such good people to back him up.

With his backpack strapped firmly to his back, Jamie stepped off of the subway train, used to the cool wind that nipped at his nose. Inside of the subway car hadn't been much warmer, but he had several layers wrapped around him and a few more left in his bag. With him was only the necessities, anything else would have been hell to carry.

Above ground, it was even colder and there were a lot more people. Still, Jamie found himself wandering in a park, kicking bits of snow off of the sidewalk with his boots. The playground equipment was frozen solid, the ground blanketed with ice, but it was still beautiful, and he wasn't the only one who enjoyed it. Several others wandered, though huddled within themselves, just like him. He would have felt sorry for the old man a few yards in front of him, if he wasn't grinning at his granddaughter.

Hours passed without a bit of luck, and Jamie considered calling it a day, but as the sun began to set he caught a white sparkle not too far in the distance. It wasn't unlike moonlight shining on an icicle, and he quickly trudged towards it, frozen to the bone. Even with his toes numb, tied tightly in between big, black, heavy boots, he moved like a moth towards a flame. His sorrow and apologies sparked within him, even hotter than the snow surrounding him.

Jamie stopped twenty feet in front of him, watching with sparkling eyes, which was only the light reflecting off of the tears he was denying the existence of. Jack was leaned against a tree, which trickled with intricate snowy swirls. His arms were crossed, his staff resting inches beside him, his gaze cold and rested on the ground.

"Jack," Jamie said, his voice breathless and cracking, the way it had the summer he turned thirteen. His dark hair was pointed in every direction, much like Jack's, though he didn't notice. A warmness filled him, akin to something like relief, and he was just so happy to see him again. And in better circumstances. How stupid he was, to ignore him before. How many years had he dealt with that before Jamie had seen him?

Jack, however, didn't look up. A large figure stood in front of him, blocking Jamie's view, and he felt immediately intimidated. Despite everything that he's done and stood for, the Easter Bunny was still very, very tall, and Jamie knew not to pick a fight with him. He wasn't sure he'd live from it. He protected the children of the world, but Jamie wasn't a child anymore, even if he acted like one.

"What are you doing here, mate?"

Jamie blinked, standing stiff in his place, feet spread apart and fighting the urge to take several steps back and run. The man's (rabbit's?) expression was much like Jack's, but with a darker undertone. It lacked the loneliness and was instead replaced with a solid, black, hidden anger.

"I came to see Jack." His voice wasn't as strong as he would have liked it to be, but he was proud it didn't break again.

"Like hell you did."

"No, _really_," pressed Jamie, taking a desperate step forward. "I wanted to apologize."

"Listen, kid… what you did, that's not exactly forgivable. You said you couldn't see him anymore. You're not a kid, you can't play with him like that…"

"I know," he blurted, "but I still..." Jamie sighed, trying to peer around him, even if the effort was futile. "I know he can hear me… Jack, I'm so, _so_ sorry. I didn't realize… I was trying too hard to fit into a place I didn't even belong in, nor did I want to. I fell into the shitty pressure of high school and I just—I've always seen you, I see you now—or, well, I _would_— and I always will… there's no doubt about that. I came all the way here just hoping to find you."

After he finished, there was absolute silence. Night was beginning to finally set in, and there was only the three of them in the entire park, though there weren't very many to begin with, besides the old man and a few others.

There was a creak as Jack kicked himself off the tree, and he peaked around the Easter Bunny, who wanted nothing more than to restrict him from Jamie's view. Again. "You came all the way here from Burgess… for _me_?"

Jamie cracked a smile at him, hoping to ease the tensions a little. "Yeah, of course," he said, as if it were the most honest and knowing thing in the world. His gaze was intently rested on him, as though he was trying to force the fact that he could see Jack into his head.

"And you can… see me."

"Yes."

"But back there, a few weeks ago, you didn't…"

"I was stupid," he admitted. "I'm going to college in a few months and I wanted to see where I fit in the world. With Guardians and fairytales and Jack Frost… I don't know… it doesn't seem very adult. I didn't think I could be an adult and have the heart of a kid, I was just…"

"… experimenting?"

Jamie nodded, letting out a breath. He understood, Jack understood.

Jack was still for a moment longer, then he grabbed his staff and leaned on it, a big goofy grin on his face. "Then I suppose everything is cool, then. Did you figure things out then?"

Jamie's mind drifted to his friends who he's known for years, and nodded. He's always known his place, he just was oblivious to it until they knocked some sense into him. Even while they were completely disappointed in him, they were still his best friends. (Well, maybe not Sophie, sisters never counted.)

"Yeah… yeah I think I did."

"That's good!" He circled Jack, floating in the air with ease as the wind picked up. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw the Easter Bunny shiver. Jack realized the same time he did and dropped to his feet, giving an apologetic smile.

"Are you sure you're not still… mad at me?" Jamie said awkwardly, his thoughts conflicted. He was glad it went so well, but he was also convinced that Jack was going to blow up any moment. He wouldn't blame him if he did, Jamie kind of secretly wanted to be yelled at.

"Nah, I was never really mad in the first place."

"You call this temper tantrum not being mad?"

"Oh come on, Bunny. It wasn't anger directed at _him_." Jack grinned even wider, "Besides, you know something good came out of it."

Bunny looked away, his stance still stiff and extremely protective. Jamie's eyes narrowed as he watched them, an amused, but confused expression on his face. "What happened?"

"Nothing," Jack said, a mischievous twinkle in his eye. "But you do know cigarettes are bad, right?"

Distantly, Jaime heard Bunny mumble something under his breath that sounded a lot like, "Oh, _now_ he says it."

Jack laughed, the sound loud and ringing like a bell through the still and silent park. Jamie was happy that he could hear it, even if most couldn't.

"But if you ever try that again, don't doubt that I'll whack you with this," Jack threatened, spinning his staff in between his hands. Jamie grinned, and nodded, not wanting to ruin the moment with any more of his words.

When Jack relaxed linked his arm in his, pulling him down the icy sidewalk with the Easter Bunny following closely behind, Jaime realized there was no way he could ever give it up. Normality wasn't worth it, he was certain that he would be Jack's friend for as long as he wanted him, and Jamie would believe in him for as long as he lived.


End file.
